Yarn cleaner



Jan. 13, 1953 w. cs. QUICK EI'AL YARN CLEANER Filed April 26. 1951 .Lll llqul M Q T N m m m vko n N.C$

Patented Jan. 13, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE YARN CLEANER William G. Quick and William O. Wilson, Daisy, Tenn., assignors to Kingsboro Silk Mills, Inc.,

Daisy, Tenn.

Application April 26, 1951, Serial No. 223,026

character are well-known in the textile art, as

exemplified by the Patent No. 1,448,612 of William A. Barton et al., dated March 13, 1923.

An important object of the invention is to provide a yarn cleaner of the above character which is capable of being readily assembled and disassembled for renewal of guide pins between which the yarn is drawn, for adjusting the yarnengaging surfaces of the guide pins with respect to the yarn from time to time as the pins become worn, for changing the spacing between the pair of guide pins to accommodate different sizes of yarn, and for cleaning.

Another object of the invention is to provide a yarn cleaner of the above character in which the guide pins are made of a hard, polished, ceramic composition capable of normally offering minimum frictional resistance to the travel of the yarn therebetween while at the same time reducing the tendency for the generation of static electricity on the yarn.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of the invention, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a yarn cleaner;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of a block forming part of the yarn cleaner;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan View of the block;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a pair of assembled guide pins having a shim therebetween; and

Figure 5 is a view of the lug and clamping screw adapted to be assembled with the block for holding the guide pins in place.

The yarn cleaner illustrated in the drawing comprises an approximately square metal block i (made, for example, of brass) recessed inwardly from its top face to provide a straight channel extending from end-to-end of the block having a fiat bottom 2 and straight sidewalls 3. Extending a substantial distance inwardly from one end of the channel is a slot 4 of somewhat less width than the channel and having rounded edges at its outer end. The side of the block is formed with a hole into which is tightly fitted a cylindrical cross-pin 5 in such a manner that this cross-pin bridges the width of the slot adjacent the inner, or closed, end of the slot.

A pair of cylindrical guide pins 7 arranged in 2 parallel relation and spaced apart by means of a shim 8 are locatedso as to extend above and lengthwise of the slot 4 with one of their ends resting on the bottom of the channel beyond the inner end of the slot and the other of their ends terminating adjacent the outer end of the slot. The spacing of the guide pins by the shim 8 will be determined by the size of the yarn Y being used in the textile machine, and the pins are held in fixed position by means of a set-screw '9 threaded into an opening extending from one side of the block I into the channel, the construction being such that the set-screw tightly binds the pair of pins l with the interposed shim 8 against a sidewall of the channel.

For holding the pins against upward displacement there is provided a fiat lug lil having a narrow vertically disposed flange Illa along one edge. The lug is of such width as to interfit between the sidewalls of the channel and to overlie the inner ends of the pair of guide pins 1 and with the flange lila abutting the bottom of the channel beyond the inner ends of the pins. A clamping screw ll passes through a central hole in the lug and threadedly engage a companion hole in the bottom of the channel to permit the lug being secured in place for firmly clamping the pins 1 against upward movement out of the channel.

The pins 6 and l are made of a polished ceramic material, such as porcelain, because we have found that such material greatly reduces friction and retards the generation of static electricity on the yarn, especially nylon yarn. Also the ceramic pins are much gentler on the fiber while it is undergoing cleaning.

The end of the block I opposite from that through which opens the slot i is drilled to provide threaded holes l2 (Fig. 2) by which the yarn cleaner may be attached by screws (not shown) to a fixed part F of the textile machine frame as indicated in broken lines in Figure 1.

The block i having been attached to the machine, the yarn Y will travel rearwardly across the cross-pin 6 and between the pair of guide pins 1 so that the yarn is restrained in three directions by the three polished ceramic, cylindrical pins which act to clean lint, fluff and other foreign material from the yarn. When an enlargement such as a knot, slub or bunch, seeks lto pass between the guide pins, it meets such re-- sistance that the strand is broken.

The yarn cleaner just described, by reason of its simple construction, permits rapid assembly and disassembly. As the pins 1 become worn out-of-round, it is only necessary to release the clamping screw II and back off the set-screw 9 and then give the pins a quarter turn to bring a new rounded surface into opposed relation across the spacing between the pins. The pin 6 may likewise be rotated through a partial revolution as it becomes worn. When changing over the yarn cleaner for use with adifierent size yarn, the lug i9 is removed by unscrewing the clamping screw II, the set screw 9 is backed oiI and the shim 8 is exchanged for a shim of an appropriately different thickness, it being understood that a supply of shims of difi'erent thicknesses will be kept on hand to adapt the yarn cleaner to use with various sizes of yarn.

The yarn cleaner, because it is of very simple construction and comprises no: moving parts, is easy to clean, adjust and keep in order, besides being readily adaptable to use with various sizes of yarn.

While a preferred embodiment of our yarn cleaner has been set forth above, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact construction illustrated and described, but that modifications of details may be made within the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. A yarn cleaner for textile machines comprising a block with a channel extending along one face thereof having a bottom and sidewalls, a slot of less width than the channel extending from an outer end of the channel inwardly for a portion of the length of the channel. a pair of cylindrical, parallel-disposed guide pins lengthwise overlying the slot and having one of their ends resting upon the bottom of the channel and the other of their ends terminating adjacent the outer end of the channel, a spacing shim disposed between the guide pins at their inner ends, a set screw passing through one sidewall of the channel and clamping the guide pins both against the shim and one against the other sidewall, a lug overlying the inner ends of the guide pins, said lug having a flange located beyond the inner ends of the guide pins and resting upon the bottom of the channel, means for clamping the guide pins between the lug and the bottom of the channel, and a cylindrical cross pin located below the guide pins and bridging the slot adjacent its inner end.

2. A yarn cleaner as set forth in claim 1 in which the guide pins and cross-pin are made of a polished ceramic material.

WILLIAM G. QUICK. WILLIAM 0. WILSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 215,990 Sullivan May 27, 1879 1,523,092 Welton Jan. 13, 1925 1,625,352 Daugert et a1 Apr. 19, 1927 

